Evelyn Wynn Dr. Michael Williams ENGL 864: British Literature 1660-1900 June 12, 2014 Performance in Felicia Heman’s “The Indian City” When reading a poem, it should evoke one’s emotions, thoughts, ideas, and preconceptions. This is why people read differently; they bring their varied experiences and understandings to the same piece of literature. This is a creative process; therefore, reading can be viewed as a kind of performance because the reader performs the action. With this in mind, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the performativity of Felicia Heman’s “The Indian City,” making note of the themes of death and the suffering woman (mother). As I read “The Indian City,” I observed that it is divided into three books. Because of the length of each book, it appears to be a narrative that seems to flow like the flight of birds as Heman refers to the young boy as a falcon, a sea-bird, a dove, and an eagle. “The Indian City” is a poem about a young boy who is on a pilgrimage with his mother. He is attacked by the Brahmins because he playfully takes a bath in their holy water. The young boy dies because of the severity of his wounds. As I read the first stanza in Book I, I was moved by the angelic description of the land. Heman’s words echo a serene lay of the land, of nature, when she writes, “Royal in splendor went down the day / On the plain where an Indian city lay” (1-2). She continues to paint a picturesque field when she writes, “Many a white pagoda’s glean / Slept lovely round upon lake and stream,” (13-14). During the mother-son pilgrimage, the boy sees the river which is described as “The flood beyond, to the fiery west / Spread out like a metal-mirror’s breast, But that lone bay, in its dimness deep, Seem’d made for the swimmer’s joyous leap” (41-44). The young boy is drawn to the water as every young child would be. Aware of his surroundings, Heman compares the young boy to birds which evoke emotions of flight, freedom, peace, and solitude. Like a falcon’s glance on the wide blue sky, Was the kindling flash of the boy’s glad eye, Like a sea-bird’s flight to the foaming wave, From the shadowy bank was the bound he gave; Dashing the spray-drops, cold and white, O’er the glossy leaves in his young delight, And bowing his locks to the waters clear— Alas! He dreamt not that fate was near. The mother goes away for a few hours, perhaps to shop or take care of daily duties. Thus, Book I ends on a happy note. In Book II, the mood of the poem takes the reader on a downward turn. Although Heman does not allow the reader to witness the boy’s fatal blows, it is important to note that when this book opens, it is night: “The moon rose clear in the splendor given” (63) which I believe is a note of foreshadowing. Heman points out, “The boy from the high-arch’d woods came back— / Oh! What had he met in his lonely track?. . . . With his graceful hair all soil’d and torn, / And a gloom on the lids of his darken’s eye, / And a gash on his bosom—he came to die! The reader knows that the young boy was met with some type of confrontation. An emotionally charged picture is painted when the young boy looks for his mother: “the face to his young heart sweet” and he falls to her feet. The mother quickly observes that her son’s face has turned “pale,” his eyes are “darker” and his hair is “soiled and torn.” When the mother sees her son, I noticed that I no longer referred to the boy as “the young boy,” but rather “her son.” It clearly elicits compassion and a sense of responsiveness from the reader. These lines evoked the mother instinct within me. The mother definitely knows that her son is dying when Heman points out the issuing of blood. “Breathless she knelt in her son’s young blood, / Rending her mantle to staunch its flood; / But it rush’d like a river which none may stay, / Bearing a flower to the deep away” (87-90). Because his blood “rushes” out of his body, it is clear that he is about to die. As her son dies, he “kiss’d from her cheek the widow’s tears” (103). Again, Heman finds a way to make the reader feel empathy about the situation. (A real tear jerker). Upon her son’s death, the suffering mother does not mourn long before she decides to seek vengeance. Heman writes, “. . . Not yet—not yet I weep, / Not yet my spirit shall sink or sleep, / Not till yon city, in ruins rent, / Be piled for its victim’s monument” (133-136). My emotions spun 360 degrees when the poem took this unexpected downward spiral turn. Book III tells of the mother’s revenge. Heman writes about how the mother shared her feelings to others. “And her tale had rung like a trumpet’s blast. / There had been words from her pale lips pour’d, / Each one a spell to unsheathe the sword” (162-163). As the poem progresses, the mother has doubts about her plans, but finally decides to carry them out. “But something which breathed from that mournful strain / Sent a fitful gust o’er her soul again,” ( 205-206). As Book III concludes, Heman states, “Palace and tower on that plain were left, / Like fallen trees by the lightening cleft; (225-226). From a performance standpoint, Heman takes the reader through many emotional upheavals. Afterall, there is no story better to evoke emotion than that of a mother losing a child.
Dr. Michael Williams
ENGL 864: British Literature 1660-1900
June 12, 2014
Performance in Felicia Heman’s “The Indian City”
When reading a poem, it should evoke one’s emotions, thoughts, ideas, and preconceptions. This is why people read differently; they bring their varied experiences and understandings to the same piece of literature. This is a creative process; therefore, reading can be viewed as a kind of performance because the reader performs the action. With this in mind, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the performativity of Felicia Heman’s “The Indian City,” making note of the themes of death and the suffering woman (mother).
As I read “The Indian City,” I observed that it is divided into three books. Because of the length of each book, it appears to be a narrative that seems to flow like the flight of birds as Heman refers to the young boy as a falcon, a sea-bird, a dove, and an eagle. “The Indian City” is a poem about a young boy who is on a pilgrimage with his mother. He is attacked by the Brahmins because he playfully takes a bath in their holy water. The young boy dies because of the severity of his wounds.
As I read the first stanza in Book I, I was moved by the angelic description of the land. Heman’s words echo a serene lay of the land, of nature, when she writes, “Royal in splendor went down the day / On the plain where an Indian city lay” (1-2). She continues to paint a picturesque field when she writes, “Many a white pagoda’s glean / Slept lovely round upon lake and stream,” (13-14).
During the mother-son pilgrimage, the boy sees the river which is described as “The flood beyond, to the fiery west / Spread out like a metal-mirror’s breast, But that lone bay, in its dimness deep, Seem’d made for the swimmer’s joyous leap” (41-44). The young boy is drawn to the water as every young child would be. Aware of his surroundings, Heman compares the young boy to birds which evoke emotions of flight, freedom, peace, and solitude.
Like a falcon’s glance on the wide blue sky,
Was the kindling flash of the boy’s glad eye,
Like a sea-bird’s flight to the foaming wave,
From the shadowy bank was the bound he gave;
Dashing the spray-drops, cold and white,
O’er the glossy leaves in his young delight,
And bowing his locks to the waters clear—
Alas! He dreamt not that fate was near.
The mother goes away for a few hours, perhaps to shop or take care of daily duties. Thus, Book I ends on a happy note.
In Book II, the mood of the poem takes the reader on a downward turn. Although Heman does not allow the reader to witness the boy’s fatal blows, it is important to note that when this book opens, it is night: “The moon rose clear in the splendor given” (63) which I believe is a note of foreshadowing. Heman points out, “The boy from the high-arch’d woods came back— / Oh! What had he met in his lonely track?. . . . With his graceful hair all soil’d and torn, / And a gloom on the lids of his darken’s eye, / And a gash on his bosom—he came to die! The reader knows that the young boy was met with some type of confrontation.
An emotionally charged picture is painted when the young boy looks for his mother: “the face to his young heart sweet” and he falls to her feet. The mother quickly observes that her son’s face has turned “pale,” his eyes are “darker” and his hair is “soiled and torn.” When the mother sees her son, I noticed that I no longer referred to the boy as “the young boy,” but rather “her son.” It clearly elicits compassion and a sense of responsiveness from the reader. These lines evoked the mother instinct within me. The mother definitely knows that her son is dying when Heman points out the issuing of blood. “Breathless she knelt in her son’s young blood, / Rending her mantle to staunch its flood; / But it rush’d like a river which none may stay, / Bearing a flower to the deep away” (87-90). Because his blood “rushes” out of his body, it is clear that he is about to die. As her son dies, he “kiss’d from her cheek the widow’s tears” (103). Again, Heman finds a way to make the reader feel empathy about the situation. (A real tear jerker).
Upon her son’s death, the suffering mother does not mourn long before she decides to seek vengeance. Heman writes, “. . . Not yet—not yet I weep, / Not yet my spirit shall sink or sleep, / Not till yon city, in ruins rent, / Be piled for its victim’s monument” (133-136). My emotions spun 360 degrees when the poem took this unexpected downward spiral turn.
Book III tells of the mother’s revenge. Heman writes about how the mother shared her feelings to others. “And her tale had rung like a trumpet’s blast. / There had been words from her pale lips pour’d, / Each one a spell to unsheathe the sword” (162-163). As the poem progresses, the mother has doubts about her plans, but finally decides to carry them out. “But something which breathed from that mournful strain / Sent a fitful gust o’er her soul again,” (
205-206). As Book III concludes, Heman states, “Palace and tower on that plain were left, / Like fallen trees by the lightening cleft; (225-226). From a performance standpoint, Heman takes the reader through many emotional upheavals. Afterall, there is no story better to evoke emotion than that of a mother losing a child.